Reasons to keep liberty

Hey y’all, picked up a 03 Jeep Liberty Renegade a few months ago for $2200 with 129k on the clock. Reason I picked it up for pretty cheap was because it needed o2 sensors. I fixed it myself and everything’s dandy and I love my liberty! The more research I’m Doing on lifting/ modifying these liberty’s , the more I’m getting discouraged as I’m seeing how much of a pain people are making it out to be when installing lift kits and stuff. Mainly the 2-3in lift kits. Anyway I wanted to make this Post for reasons why someone should keep their liberty over going and buy any other Jeep. Thanks

LOL sounds like you just want another Jeep
I have 3 , one bought new in 04 and was daily driver for years
2 of mine have JBA coilover lifts on them cause I like the ride
keep one pretty much stock height( but upgraded suspension ) for hauling my 87 year old Mother
Installed over 60 KJ lifts, well worth it to everyone I've done or helped do
IF you buy a good lift for any type of 4x4 you are going to get in the 800-1000 range at the very least
I have had lifted 4x4s since 1975, yes it cost more now, but much better products available as well
So if you don't want to spend a few dollars and do it right , ditch it and buy a Toyota
I'm always looking for new rust free 02s-05s

example 2012 Jeep Wrangler
AEV DualSport SC Suspension Lift Kit 3.5" / 4.5"
$1,800.00


Lifting a Liberty is far from being a pain, ( if you think it is, well ...............) much easier than a lot of vehicles I have done for others over the years, KJs are pretty painless , doesn't take much time, OME springs are readily available , can be setup to 3 inches without using JBA UCAs but they are a great upgrade

grant1109 said:

Hey y’all, picked up a 03 Jeep Liberty Renegade a few months ago for $2200 with 129k on the clock. Reason I picked it up for pretty cheap was because it needed o2 sensors. I fixed it myself and everything’s dandy and I love my liberty! The more research I’m Doing on lifting/ modifying these liberty’s , the more I’m getting discouraged as I’m seeing how much of a pain people are making it out to be when installing lift kits and stuff. Mainly the 2-3in lift kits. Anyway I wanted to make this Post for reasons why someone should keep their liberty over going and buy any other Jeep. Thanks

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tommudd said:

LOL sounds like you just want another Jeep
I have 3 , one bought new in 04 and was daily driver for years
2 of mine have JBA coilover lifts on them cause I like the ride
keep one pretty much stock height( but upgraded suspension ) for hauling my 87 year old Mother
Installed over 60 KJ lifts, well worth it to everyone I've done or helped do
IF you buy a good lift for any type of 4x4 you are going to get in the 800-1000 range at the very least
I have had lifted 4x4s since 1975, yes it cost more now, but much better products available as well
So if you don't want to spend a few dollars and do it right , ditch it and buy a Toyota
I'm always looking for new rust free 02s-05s

example 2012 Jeep Wrangler
AEV DualSport SC Suspension Lift Kit 3.5" / 4.5"
$1,800.00


Lifting a Liberty is far from being a pain, ( if you think it is, well ...............) much easier than a lot of vehicles I have done for others over the years, KJs are pretty painless , doesn't take much time, OME springs are readily available , can be setup to 3 inches without using JBA UCAs but they are a great upgrade

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Yeah I wouldn’t want to cheap out on lifts. I’m in a position where I could sell my liberty for an 01 cherokee in good shape but stuck on what to do. The Cherokee seems better suited off-road and can be abused more than the liberty. I love my liberty but from what I’ve been reading, the liberty is poop compared to other jeeps...

I've owned Cherokees, ( bought 3 brand new ones, lifted, geared etc ) ran into 100s of thousand of miles
as far as what I like better, give me a KJ any day
If you want something to just off road and trash use a Cherokee
but to lift it , going to costs as much, same amout of power really
ride is not as good on a Cherokee
but its what you like

tommudd said:

I've owned Cherokees, ( bought 3 brand new ones, lifted, geared etc ) ran into 100s of thousand of miles
as far as what I like better, give me a KJ any day
If you want something to just off road and trash use a Cherokee
but to lift it , going to costs as much, same amout of power really
ride is not as good on a Cherokee
but its what you like

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Oh wow, that’s awesome you’ve owned 3 of them but still choose the liberty over them.
I guess I don’t know what it’s like to own a cherokee (my brother had one but never drove it nor rode in it). I just liked the idea of the 4.0 and SFA. Not sure if the IFS brings anything better to the table than SFA.

grant1109 said:

Oh wow, that’s awesome you’ve owned 3 of them but still choose the liberty over them.
I guess I don’t know what it’s like to own a cherokee (my brother had one but never drove it nor rode in it). I just liked the idea of the 4.0 and SFA. Not sure if the IFS brings anything better to the table than SFA.

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better ride quality.
the 4.0 is/was a beast of a motor in terms of longevity, but the 3.7 is no wilting flower or impending maintenance disaster (looking at you, diesel. so glad I dodged that bullet at the end of the day.)

grant1109 said:

Hey y’all, picked up a 03 Jeep Liberty Renegade a few months ago for $2200 with 129k on the clock. Reason I picked it up for pretty cheap was because it needed o2 sensors. I fixed it myself and everything’s dandy and I love my liberty! The more research I’m Doing on lifting/ modifying these liberty’s , the more I’m getting discouraged as I’m seeing how much of a pain people are making it out to be when installing lift kits and stuff. Mainly the 2-3in lift kits. Anyway I wanted to make this Post for reasons why someone should keep their liberty over going and buy any other Jeep. Thanks

Click to expand...

Well first of all no one says you have to lift it. I've had quite a few vehicles and my favorite is my 06 Liberty. Regular maintenance and it runs strong and I will keep running these as long as I can.

sota said:

better ride quality.
the 4.0 is/was a beast of a motor in terms of longevity, but the 3.7 is no wilting flower or impending maintenance disaster (looking at you, diesel. so glad I dodged that bullet at the end of the day.)

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I absolutely love my 3.7, have had a lot of vehicles and this 06 is by far my favorite. Regular maintenance and it runs strong. And I think standard would be even more of an improvement.

sota said:

better ride quality.
the 4.0 is/was a beast of a motor in terms of longevity, but the 3.7 is no wilting flower or impending maintenance disaster (looking at you, diesel. so glad I dodged that bullet at the end of the day.)

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So the diesels are much more maintenance than gas?

Shane Giggie said:

Well first of all no one says you have to lift it. I've had quite a few vehicles and my favorite is my 06 Liberty. Regular maintenance and it runs strong and I will keep running these as long as I can.

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Well that’s no fun! I want to lift mine, just not sure why some people make it out to be a bigger project than it really is

grant1109 said:

So the diesels are much more maintenance than gas?

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google timing belt replacement.

here's a hint: there's a dude on another jeep board that's making apparently a decent enough living, flying into various locations and doing that job en mass for people.

grant1109 said:

Well that’s no fun! I want to lift mine, just not sure why some people make it out to be a bigger project than it really is

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Well, with seeing all these lifted kj's can't be too much of a big deal.

grant1109 said:

So the diesels are much more maintenance than gas?

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Anything diesel is more maintenance, just the way it goes.

Shane Giggie said:

Well, with seeing all these lifted kj's can't be too much of a big deal.

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LOL well it all depends, can tell you a lot of stories of tried and failed, phone calls from 10 states away at 3 in the morning, doing something stupid and trying to figure out a way around it !

Some people can make opening a bottle of Jack a huge deal

grant1109 said:

So the diesels are much more maintenance than gas?

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Yep. The water-cooled-electrically-activated-EGR is badly engineered and the rubberband, (timing belt), isn't a very quick job. The EPA has come down on almost every mod needed to make it work well and diesel prices don't offer any advantage. MPG stinks.

If I ever buy another diesel it'll have a timing CHAIN and a cast iron block and head. I got this thing to ignore and drive but it wants all the attention and money.

tommudd said:

LOL well it all depends, can tell you a lot of stories of tried and failed, phone calls from 10 states away at 3 in the morning, doing something stupid and trying to figure out a way around it !

Some people can make opening a bottle of Jack a huge deal

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Lol this is true.

sota said:

google timing belt replacement.

here's a hint: there's a dude on another jeep board that's making apparently a decent enough living, flying into various locations and doing that job en mass for people.

Click to expand...

those Italian diesels are not that great. Shoot the eco diesel that they're using now in the ram is terrible

PIMking13 said:

those Italian diesels are not that great. Shoot the eco diesel that they're using now in the ram is terrible

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True dat, bunch of junk.